Passengers in protest over ‘awful’ rail service
CAMPAIGN GROUP TAKE DIRECT ACTION AT BUSY STATION AND PROMISE FURTHER DEMONSTRATIONS
TRAIN passengers fed up of what they call an ‘awful’ service offered by Northern rail staged a protest at one of Manchester’s busiest stations last night.
It was the first piece of direct action by campaign group Northern Resist, who say such demonstrations will become a regular occurrence until they see change.
The group was set up two and a half years ago and has become a forum for those frustrated at frequently packed trains and regular cancellations and delays to try and have their voice heard.
And more than 50 commuters who use Northern trains stood outside Victoria station holding placards saying sentences such as ‘cancel Northern rail, not our trains.’
With station staff watching on, protesters used a megaphone to share their demands, which include a 33 percent reduction in fares until Northern achieves 70 per cent punctuality, no fare increases until services reach 65 per cent reliability, for the company to unblock members of the group on Twitter and for it to set up a customer/passenger liaison group.
Ultimately, they say if these aren’t met the government should strip the company of its franchise.
The Department for Transport said in October it was working on ‘contingency plans’ for replacing the existing deal with a new short-term management contract with either Northern or a government-controlled Operator of Last Resort (OLR).
Kate Anstee, 36, who commutes to Swinton from Hebden Bridge everyday, and who helped organise the event, said: “We felt it went really well.
“It’s a case of us getting out there and trying to get our voice heard.
“We’ve been forced into this kind of action because complaining on social media, or by email or phone etc has just fallen on deaf ears.
“And we’re going to keep doing these kind of protests until we see change. People are paying thousands of pounds for this awful service. “In January we’re going to see a 2.7 percent rise in fares and that’s just completely unjustified given the service we get.”
Northern said beforehand they had worked with the group and police to help facilitate the protest.
In their defence, company bosses say they have had to deal with ‘unprecedented’ challenges and say many of the issues highlighted by the group were out of their control.
They blamed delays to projects such as the electrification of the Preston - Bolton line and the delayed introduction of their fleet of new Spanish built trains to replace the hated pacers. Northern added: “Arriva and Northern remain fully committed to delivering the transformation of the North’s railways and improving customers’ experience.
“We are delivering the biggest transformation of local rail for a generation, with 33 of our 101 new trains now in service and driver training taking place on dozens more trains right now. “Alongside 2,000 extra services per week, this is part of a £600 million investment in improving customers’ experience; we are continuing to invest in better stations, better offers for customers and more recruitment.”
Kate Anstee